


Forbidden Fruits

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-04-09
Updated: 2003-04-09
Packaged: 2019-05-15 01:00:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14780651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: "there's a catch," josh cautioned (josh/sam slash)





	Forbidden Fruits

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**Forbidden Fruits**

**by: Abigale**

**Character(s):** Josh, Sam  
**Pairing(s):** Josh/Sam  
**Category(s):** Romance, Slash  
**Rating:** MATURE  
**Summary:** "There's a catch," Josh cautioned. 

Butter-colored custard, thick as a fist and smooth and creamy. Splashes of bright fruit. Kiwi; strawberry. Juicy, nearly bursting mango slices, and more of everything. 

Josh held the large tart in the palm of one hand, balancing it carefully as he climbed onto the bed, and scooted to the center. 

"One fork, no plates? Pretty half-assed surprise," Sam droned, but his eyes said yes! Yes! 

"There's a catch," Josh cautioned. He arranged himself cross-legged next to a semi-reclined Sam, and carefully placed the pastry on his flat, exposed stomach. "A taste, for the truth." Josh scooped up a healthy dab of cream, and brought it to Sam's lips. "This one's a freebie." 

After licking his way down Josh's long finger, Sam cocked his head at his friend. "I don't get it," he admitted. 

"You want another taste, you have to tell me a secret. Something that's true, something I don't know already." 

Sam nodded his head in understanding. "Ah. This is because -- " 

"I know you better than anyone, Sam. I can read you like a briefing book." The cocky, self-congratulatory tone he'd used earlier in the evening was back, and Josh saw the mock-frown pass over Sam's brow again. "Oh, yes I do." 

"Take this," Sam instructed, as he began to lift the surprisingly heavy confection from its resting place. He struggled into more of a sitting position, and allowed Josh to lower it again, this time setting it directly on his crotch. 

When Sam picked a fat strawberry out of the custard, it produced a gentle sucking sound that made both men grin. 

"Hey, now. I didn't hear a secret," Josh chided, placing a restraining hand on Sam's wrist. 

Sam looked taken aback. "You were serious about this?" he wondered. Seeing Josh's bemused expression, he sighed, and replaced the strawberry. "'Kay. I told Toby his National Wetlands Coalition speech was shit, just so he'd ask me to help restructure it." Sam sat back firmly against the headboard, and crossed his arms over his chest. "I _told_ him I wanted to write that damn thing." 

"Wow," breathed Josh. "That was... I didn't expect that." He sucked the cream from the strawberry, and handed it over. "I know you're not crazy about too much sugary stuff." 

Sam bit into the offering, then popped the remainder in his mouth. "Those blueberries look good," he said, eyeing a cluster along the edge of the tart. 

"Secret." 

Sam wiped at the corner of his mouth with his thumb, thinking. "I didn't have a doctor's appointment last Tuesday. I had lunch at the Inn at Little Washington with a friend, and then we went shopping at Tysons Corner all afternoon." His eyes darted from Josh's face to the purpled fruit. 

"Damn." 

Josh used the fork to scoop up a lump of glazed blueberries, but Sam's hand interrupted the motion. 

"Down to the pastry. I want it all," he said, in a slightly demanding tone. Though he opened his mouth wide as Josh brought the fork to him, a glorious gob of custard fought to remain on Sam's lips. Josh leaned in and wiped Sam clean with his tongue before settling back in place. 

"I actually _do_ like sugary things," Sam said, then smiled sweetly himself. "I just pretend that I prefer healthier foods." He pointed to a section with ripe round discs of kiwi, and sucked at his lip. 

Staring at Sam for a moment, Josh shook his head slightly, and then shifted to his knees. He removed the cardboard plate the tart rested on, and put it on the bed next to Sam. "Why do I have the feeling I've picked the wrong game, here?" he asked, crawling over Sam's outstretched legs. He pried Sam's knees apart, and settled himself between them, one foot on either side of the speechwriter. 

Both men were naked, skin finally cooled from their earlier exertion, Josh's hair curling like a poet's around the nape of his neck. He dug the fork deeply into the dessert, and then brought it to Sam's mouth. 

"By the way," he informed a chewing Sam. "The cherries are soaked in brandy." 

Sam laughed and swallowed. "Okay. Two weeks ago, I had a wet dream." 

Josh rolled his eyes and slumped slightly, his hands resting on Sam's thighs. "Hardly worth brandied cherries." 

"I was aboard Air Force One at the time," Sam replied, and beckoned to the fork with a single finger. 

Josh sliced into the tart in defeat. "Do you remember who it was about?" he asked with a modicum of curiosity. 

"Yes." Sam feasted on the dripping cherries, as Josh eagerly slurped the excess off his chin. 

"So, um, what did you do? After you woke up?" 

"What do you think?" Sam asked blandly, then pulled Josh's head up for a kiss. Sam was flavored with dark sweetness and cool custard, and the aftertaste of brandy nearly made Josh swoon. 

"I wish I'd been there to clean you off...." 

Sam pushed Josh away, until he was sitting back between Sam's legs. "And a damn fine job you would have done, I'm sure." He searched Josh's eyes for a moment before looking over at the slowly diminishing dessert. "Um... let's see... You know how I said I left Dewey Ballantine because I wanted a bigger playing field?" 

"Mm hm," Josh mumbled, while using the fork's tines to lightly rake down Sam's body. 

Sam moaned softly. "It was for the money," he confessed. "I went for the money." 

Josh's movements stopped, cold metal resting against Sam's belly. "No shit? How much money?" 

"Enough to... hey, where's my peach?" Sam nudged Josh's hand from his stomach. After devouring a mouthful of succulent fruit, he shrugged. "Enough to buy my boat. That was the signing bonus." 

Josh's mouth fell open in disbelief. "What the fuck?!" he yelped. "Are you kidding me?" 

"Something true, that you didn't already know," Sam responded, caressing the sides of Josh's legs. 

"Exactly how much...?" Josh suddenly wondered if he even wanted to know. "Never mind. That's, that's really...." He stared at Sam with what he hoped to hell didn't look like newfound respect, then couldn't help himself. "That was on top of salary?" 

"On top of salary, six-year interest-free down payment on the condo, two weeks a year at the firm's Caribbean property, and a promised fastrack to partner," Sam informed his dumbfounded friend. "And a quickie by Natalie, the headhunter that reeled me in," he added, and plunged his hand between Josh's legs. 

"Jesus," Josh hissed. 

"Give me... those raspberries," Sam suggested, still gripping a gradually hardening Josh. 

His breath catching in his chest, Josh managed to wheeze out a defiant "No." Sam's grasp slackened. "I asked them to put on extras because I _do_ know those are your favorite. It's gonna take something major to get those babies," he explained. "And that was all part of one secret." Josh bucked his hips slightly to try and regain contact with Sam's hand. But Sam had leaned back into the pillows, and clasped his hands behind his head. 

"Let's save them, shall we?" Sam asked idly, blue eyes opening and shutting lazily. His pink tongue slipped out, and he allowed it to hang at the corner of his mouth for a second. "Can I tell something about Toby?" he asked. 

Josh thought about that. "No. I mean, yeah, tell me. I want to know. But it doesn't count for fruit." He ladled a forkful of kiwi and cream into his own mouth. 

"Nah," Sam decided. "It's not worth it then." He watched Josh lick the fork clean, and his own body stirred at the sight of that jaw working. 

"The President fired me," Sam disclosed quietly. He looked away briefly, then brought his gaze back to Josh. 

"He's always firing you, Sam -- " 

"For real. Practically had me escorted out the door, until Leo talked him down." Sam's voice was hushed and hollow. He absently pulled two fingers through the dense cream, and brought them to his mouth, where he sucked distractedly. 

Josh shifted once more, leaning closer to Sam. "When was this?" he wanted to know. 

Sam's answer was muffled by the fingers, still shoved into his mouth. Josh reached up and tenderly pulled them free, eyes piercing into Sam's. "It's not important," Sam repeated. 

"The hell it -- " 

"I don't want to get into it, Josh. Keep your tart this time." Sam's hand snaked out and grabbed Josh by the back of the neck, pulling him down against Sam's lips, crushing them together brutally. 

"You can still have a taste," Josh conceded, and dragged his own fingers through the top of the tart. Bringing them to Sam's mouth, they took turns licking them spotless. 

Trying for something lighter, Sam squinted up at Josh. "Ainsley asked me out once. She was pretty wasted." His mouth twitched into a grin. "But still...." 

"No," Josh agreed. "That's good." He plopped a chunk of sticky shortbread into Sam's waiting mouth, then broke off a piece for himself. "Does she remember?" 

"Doubt it. Oh!" Sam brightened. "I have one!" He shifted on the bed, sitting up a little further, and Josh had to scoot higher to maintain the amount of body contact they had. 

"I have a friend at the National Archives who loaned me... I have all the Johnson tapes," Sam said hesitantly. 

Josh furrowed his brow. "I don't get it. They've been released." 

"Yeah," Sam granted. "Most of them. But I have them all. At home. Complete, unabridged." He cocked an eyebrow at Josh. "What? The fact that I have property from the National Archives in my possession doesn't count for anything?" 

"Maybe a misdemeanor, but really, Sam." He rested both arms on Sam's shoulders, a weary expression settling on his face. "That's one of those übergeek things that gets you so hot, and leaves me thinkin' there's been some serious head injuries in your past." Josh watched the confusion flicker in Sam's eyes before he relented. "You can have a grape. But no pastry." He plucked a grape half, and was bringing it to Sam's scowling mouth when it slipped from his fingers, and landed in the neatly trimmed hair between Sam's legs. 

"Sorry," Josh said meekly. 

"Uh huh." 

With a heavy sigh, and a bright twinkle in his eye, Josh slid down to retrieve the errant grape with his teeth, spending a good deal longer in that position than was really warranted. 

When Josh had returned to their face to face position, Sam cleared his throat. "That was _my_ grape," he scolded. 

"I'd say you got more than a measly piece of fruit out of that, so let's move on," Josh scoffed. He dipped a finger into the cream, and brought it to Sam's chest, smoothed it over a nipple. "Give me something really, really good, and I'll give you two for the price of one." He repeated the gesture, smearing more cream on Sam's other nipple, augmenting with a drizzle in between. 

"Add some papaya," Sam suggested, flittering his gaze back and forth between the ravaged tort, and Josh's feverish eyes. 

"No, this is the deal that's on the tab- uh, your chest." Josh wet his lips in anticipation, certain Sam wouldn't really resist. 

"Add some papaya for _me_ , and I swear it'll be worth the effort," Sam purred. He took a deep breath, chest rising temptingly in front of Josh. 

"Oh fer...." Josh snatched a particularly fat slice of papaya, and dangled it just out of reach of Sam's waiting lips. "Give." 

Sam smiled at him smugly. "I didn't vote for Bartlet." 

Josh's arm fell to Sam's lap with a thud, papaya wet and limp against Sam's penis. "You, for president, you didn't, who?" Josh sputtered, sitting back a little in shock. 

"I wasn't registered," Sam explained, reaching down to delicately remove the slimy lump of papaya. "You remember, after I - we - sold the condo, I didn't have an official address. Leo insisted I have a permanent address for all the paperwork, but I didn't _live_ \-- " 

"You used my D.C. address as a mailing address. But...." 

"Well, I never got around to registering to vote in D.C., but I wasn't eligible in N.Y. anymore either...." Sam laughed dryly. "So yeah, I didn't vote in the presidential election." He slurped on the papaya. "Ironic, huh?" 

Josh stared dumfounded, blinking rapidly in response to this unexpected news. "That's the most fucked up thing I've ever heard," he finally mumbled, still staring. "I take it no one knows?" 

"God!" Sam groaned. "Or will _ever_ know," he added, the edict clear. He watched as the shock left Josh's face, and he brought his lips to the dollop of cream smothering Sam's right nipple. "God...." Sam moaned softly, hands resting on the back of Josh's head. 

Once Sam had been divested of every last morsel of custard, Josh sat up again, and looked deeply into desire-fazed eyes. "You're registered now, right?" he asked teasingly. Sam nodded mutely, then reached to his side and plowed his fingers into the tart until he felt them graze the pastry bottom. He brought them to Josh's mouth, where he deposited a giant blob of slick custard. 

When Josh nearly choked on the excess, Sam laughed. "You were never very good at holding that much cream in your mouth," he said before diving in to rescue the older man. 

The kiss satisfied both men the way no food ever could. 

Sam reached for Josh's mouth with a sticky finger, and traced the outline of the lips that had just tended to him so thoroughly. 

"I want those raspberries," Sam said, a mild command underlying the words. His finger continued to explore Josh's face, drifting down his jaw line, chucking him gently under the chin. He drew Josh closer with the will of his finger, until their lips pressed together, tongues indulging in the tastes they found there. 

"Extra raspberries, for an extra secret," Josh insisted when he came up for air. Then fed on Sam a little longer. 

Exhaling slowly, Sam sat back and restrained Josh with the palm of his hand to the chest. He looked into Josh's eyes; not at the color, dark and warm, or the tiny gold specks that seemed to swirl when Josh grew emotional. He looked past, inside, beyond what there was to see, until Josh felt him come to a place that simply _was_ Josh. 

"You're in love with me," Sam whispered. Hoarsely, his voice gained a little volume when he repeated it, realized it. "You're in love with me." 

The gold flecks glittered, and Sam watched, as if transfixed, as they were muted by Josh's growing pupils. Josh's breath smelled of brandy, exhaled across Sam's face in tiny little puffs. 

Shifting back finally, Josh maintained his quivering stare. "That... that's not your secret," he croaked. "That's not your secret to tell." 

"But it's for all the raspberries," Sam said, voice as smooth as the creamy confection Josh had moments ago lapped from his chest. "Something that's true, something you don't already know." 

Josh's lips parted slightly, and he turned his head away. His eyes searched the room, roving to the ceiling, then back down the walls. They came to rest, eventually, on the wrecked dessert laying next to them on the bed, collapsed in places, fruit scavenged from the top, whole chunks missing. 

In the center, a crown of red, dimpled raspberries, heaped together by a glistening glaze. Josh stared at them longingly, and his tongue tingled in anticipation of how they might taste. 

With a leisurely motion, he leaned over and used three fingers to excavate the mound of crimson berries. Examining them for a long moment, he turned back to face his lover. "For all the raspberries," he murmured, offering them to Sam. 


End file.
